


The Boy Who Shouldn't Have Lived

by SHERlockedNloaded



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Hogwarts!au, Percabeth in Hogwarts, Percy in Hogwarts, not crossover sorry, percabeth is key
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:47:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27873273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SHERlockedNloaded/pseuds/SHERlockedNloaded
Summary: Percy Jackson didn't ask to be a half-blood. He never wanted magic in his life. He just wanted to be normal. Happy. Being in the wizarding world seems to ruin both of those wishes when he encounters an evil being trying to murder him for apparently no reason at all.
Relationships: Grover Underwood/Juniper, Percy Jackson/Annabeth Chase
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21





	1. Meets and Sweets

“Now, Percy sweetheart, don’t forget to take care of Little Bob, okay? She’s going to need a lot of attention now that she’s away from Bob.” Sally Jackson straightened Percy’s tie and dusted his shoulders off, her blue eyes sad but proud at the same time. “And don’t eat your blue candy right away, okay? Save it for when you need the sugar rush to stay awake. And-”

“Mum,” Percy whined, pulling back when she tried to fix his hair for the billionth time. “I’m gonna be fine! Really.”

She smiled sadly. “I just want you to have a good time. I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too, Mum,” Percy admitted. He felt a little uncomfortable with his mum being misty-eyed. “I’ll stay out of trouble.”

“See that you do, you little rascal.” She ruffled his hair. “I don’t need any more silver in my hair.”

“Mum.” Percy desperately tried to fix it again, heat rushing to his face. It was embarrassing enough being fully dressed in his school robes, wizards and non-wizards alike all staring at him as they passed. 

“One last hug?” Sally offered. 

Percy shrugged indifferently, but obliged. He wished he could lock her sweet shop smell permanently into his memory. He didn’t want to leave. He wanted to stay in Sally’s arms forever. He’d never been away from her longer than a day. This was a huge step up. 

“Babe, you’re going to miss the train,” Sally said softly. 

Percy inhaled sharply and pulled back. He stared at the train, majestic and shiny and probably the fanciest thing Percy would ever be in his whole life. He turned back to his mum, a little hesitant to get going. “See you for the holidays?”

She smiled weakly and gave him a weak shove. “Now get going, or you’re going to miss it!”

He nodded and hurriedly pushed his trolley, weaving between families to reach the train. He stopped when he reached the door. He had no idea what to do next. He couldn’t bring his trolley onto the train, could he? 

He looked helplessly back at his mom, but he couldn’t see her through the crowd. Great. Not even on the train and he was already failing. 

“Here, kiddo. Let me help you out there.” Percy looked up to see a smiling blond offering a hand. He was tan and tall and his teeth were blindingly white. He seemed to be in his seventh year at least. “Being a firstie can be rough.”

Percy looked at the trolley. “Do I-?”

“Give me your stuff and I’ll take care of it.” 

Percy gave him a long look, contemplating whether or not to trust him. He looked sincere enough, but so had Gabe at first.

“How about you give it to us instead? We’ll take good care of it, promise.” Percy turned to see two brothers that looked like twins smirking at him. They had trouble-maker written all over them, with the grins, upturned eyebrows, and the mischievous glint in their eyes. One grabbed Little Bob and wiggled her paws in a little dance. “I’m responsible. And very trustworthy.” 

“Connor, we both know I’m the more responsible one.”

“Just because you’re older doesn’t mean-”

“Yes it does, little bro. You’re the baby of the family, and as such, I have responsibility over you. Therefore I have more responsibility.”

“Well, at least I’m better-looking.”

Percy stepped in and grabbed Little Bob before she could get hurt with all the hand gestures the brother was making. “Look, guys, I’m new but I’m not stupid. I can’t trust you. And I don’t know about you either.” This was pointed towards the seventh year. “But I need help. So if you could help me, that’d be great.”

The brothers stared at him for a second before grinning. “I like this one!”

“Here, kid,” the blond and tall guy said. “Hand me your things, I’ll get them for you. I swear I won’t take anything.”

Percy hesitated before nodding. He put Little Bob in his hood and handed his trunk and supplies to the seventh year, who took them and put them next to his feet in the train. Percy then climbed in and picked up his supplies again. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” one of the brothers said (Percy thought it was Connor). 

“You didn’t even help,” the seventh year said. 

“Never underestimate the power of moral support.” The brothers snickered. 

“Look, if you’re not going to help, you might as well get lost,” the blond said. 

“Alrighty then, no need to be rude!” They both saluted in unison and hurried off with their supplies. 

“Travis,” the seventh year called. 

Travis stopped in his tracks and turned, his eyes glinting with poorly hidden mischief. “What?”

“Give him his candy back.”

“Aw, do we have to?” Connor whined, pulling one of the bags out of his pocket while Travis sighed and pulled out another. 

The older boy stared pointedly at them and they groaned. 

“Here you go, kid.”

“Yeah, have a good first day, little tyke.”

Percy grimaced. He hated being treated like a kid. “The name’s Percy.”

“Aw ickle Percykins. How adorable. Enjoy your candy!” They tossed it at him and hurried off (probably before the seventh year could discover something else they’d stolen).

The blond watched them go, rolling his eyes. Then he looked at Percy. “Well, Percy, I’m Luke. I’d sit with you, but I’m Head Boy and so I have to go to a different car. Are you going to be okay here on out?” 

Percy shrugged. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Thanks again.”

“It was nothing,” Luke waved his hands in a sort of shooing gesture to emphasize. “I’ll see you later, yeah?”

Percy shrugged again. “Sure.” 

And then Luke was off. Percy lugged his stuff, dodging people coming past as he tried to find an empty car. After a few run over toes, an elbow to the face, and some awkward squeezing past, Percy finally found a mostly empty car. At least it wasn’t full.

The kid inside had red hair and was incredibly pale, which made his freckles stand out. He was practically shaking as he gnawed on the top of his green shirt. “H-hey,” he muttered. “I’m Grover.”

“Hey,” Percy put his trunk away and collapsed into the red cushioned seat across from the redhead. “I’m Percy.”

The kid gaped open mouthed at him, the shirt falling back down as he did. “You’re wh-who?”

“Percy… Jackson?” A bit scared with Grover’s reaction, he turned a bit to see him better. “Do I know you?”

His face turned beet red and he shook his head rapidly. “No! I mean, I’ve seen you a bit, because we went to the same primary school, but you probably didn’t notice me. And that’s fine! And I swear I wasn’t like stalking you or anything of the sort, just saw you a couple times. I wasn’t- anyways, erm-”

“Yeah, I think I actually saw you a couple times,” Percy said. “You were the enchilada guy, right?”

Grover reddened again. “Do you… do you think they have any of those on the train? Or some coffee?”

“Not tea?” Percy teased. “What kind of Brit are you?”

“I just like the taste better? I don’t know.” 

Percy laughed. “Yeah, I don’t know if they have either of those. Even if they did, I wouldn’t be able to afford it.”

“Really?” Grover flushed red for what seemed like the billionth time. “I mean, yeah, me too.” 

“Shame.” Percy fiddled with his fingers for a bit before brightening. “I’m an idiot!”

Grover watched bemusedly as Percy foraged through his bags. 

He pulled out a big bag full of sweets excitedly. “My mom packed me these for friends!”

“Friends?” Grover asked, looking shell-shocked. 

Percy was suddenly scared that he’d overstepped his bounds. “Well, only if you want to be. I mean, erm…”

“No, yeah! I just… don’t make friends easily.” Grover cleared his throat awkwardly. “What about you? It’s your candy.”

Percy gave him the bag and then pulled out the two that the brothers had thrown back at him earlier. “My mom packed some for me, too. She said it would be easier to give them away if I had bags of my own.”

“Oh.” Grover looked nervous as he stared at the bag in his lap. “I don’t know…”

“Just try some,” Percy urged. “I’m pretty sure there’s a couple of double espresso jelly beans in there.”

Grover perked up at that. “Really?” He rummaged through the bag, fishing through it to find the jelly beans. 

Percy grinned as the boy popped one into his mouth and smiled dreamily. 

“Mmm… caffeine.”

“So,” Percy said, once everything went silent except for Grover’s chewing, “what year are you in?”

“First,” Grover answered after swallowing.

“Hey, me too. Maybe we’ll be in the same classes together.”

Grover shrugged. “I doubt it.”

“What, why?” 

“You’re definitely going to be a Gryffindor. You’re brave. I’m not really anything, so I’m Hufflepuff. They barely ever get any classes together.”

It was Percy’s turn to blush. “I… uh… actually don’t know the different houses very well. I thought you got sorted randomly. You said brave people go to Gry- door thing?”

Grover nodded. “Yeah. You’ll be sorted into there, and I-”

“What makes you think I’m brave?” Percy asked, genuinely curious. 

“You just came in here and talked to me,” Grover said matter-of-factly. “You’re pretty confident.”

Percy wasn’t sure about that. The only reason he sat there was because there weren't any other empty seats. And Grover had seemed to be the least threatening person to sit with, so it was a calculated action. And Percy was probably the farthest person from confident on the planet. He just felt safe with Grover, he was very soothing. 

“What are the other houses?” Percy asked. 

“Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin. Hufflepuff’s for people who don’t belong anywhere else, the underdogs. Or just nice people, I guess. Ravenclaws are crazy smart. Slytherins are power hungry.”

“That’s a bit harsh,” another voice said. 

Percy turned to see a curly-haired blonde with strikingly grey eyes leaning in from the door, her arms crossed. She, like Percy, was already in the school apparel, though he doubted she did it because she didn’t know if it was required or not. 

Grover gave a nervous bleating laugh. “They are though, right?”

The girl shrugged. “They’re highly ambitious, which is different. They just want what they want, that doesn’t necessarily have to be power.” 

“I guess,” Grover said, then focused his attention on the bag of sweets in his lap, his face matching his curly red hair. 

“Can I come in?” She stepped in before waiting for an answer and took a seat next to Percy.

He tensed, not sure how he felt about her intrusion. “Hi.”

“Hi,” she said disinterestedly. “I’m only joining you guys because I have nowhere else to sit.”

Percy swallowed. “Nice.”

She looked at the bag of sweets. “Where’d you get those?”

Grover looked at Percy, as if asking permission for something. Percy shrugged helplessly. This girl was an enigma, that was for sure. 

Annabeth caught the look and turned to Percy. “Well?”

Percy panicked internally, but hastily put on a mask of indifference. He could handle faking calm. In fact, he did it all the time at home. “My mum works at a sweetshop.”

“You stole them from her?” she asked, an approving lilt to her voice.

Percy was appalled. “No! Why would I do that?”

Annabeth sniffed and ignored his question. “Oh, so she likes you, then?”

“Oh.” Percy felt like an idiot. “Yeah. She’s the best person in the whole world.”

“What do you mean by ‘oh’?” Annabeth demanded, her eyebrows knitting together. “Is that an insinuation of something?”

“Insin... I just assumed you’re not on good terms with your mum?” Alarms of danger rang throughout his body as her face went from cold to icy. He desperately wanted to run. 

“The terms are fine,” her voice was steely and dangerously quiet. “It was just a question. A lot of kids our age steal from their parents.”

Percy tried to change the topic. “Did you want some?”

The coldness died and she gave him a look that said she accepted the diplomatic retreat. “Yeah, thanks.”

Percy sighed through his nose, relieved. “Feel free to take whatever you want. It’s for friends.”

She looked at him through narrowed eyes as if determining whether or not he was a potential enemy. “You just met me.”

Percy rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m kinda new to this whole wizard thing, but I have enough enemies as it is. Friends are better.”

Grover looked up, alarmed. “You have enemies?”

“You know, like bullies and stuff. People just don’t like me much,” Percy said, shrugging. 

Grover visibly relaxed, while the blonde looked at Percy for a second more before the tips of her lips twitched. “I think we can be friends.”

He grinned, relieved. “Cool.”

“I’m Annabeth,” she said, holding out her hand. 

Percy took and shook it. “Percy. And that’s Grover.”

“Oh yeah, I know him,” Annabeth said. “I mean, I’ve seen him around.”

Percy nodded but didn’t say anything, focusing on his personal candy bag as he determined what sweet to start with. He decided on the blue jelly babies. They were his least favorite and he wanted to save the best for when exams started. 

“What house do you want to be sorted into?” Annabeth asked as Percy attacked his sweets. “Personally, I want to be placed in Ravenclaw.” 

Percy shrugged. “I don’t really know. I’d be fine with whatever.”

“Well, just hope that the hat doesn’t choose a house you’re miserable with for the rest of your school career. It’s happened before. I know I’ll be placed in Ravenclaw.”  
Percy was suddenly nervous. School wasn’t his favorite thing in the world already. Being stuck somewhere he didn’t belong would make it even worse. “What house do you think I should be in?”

“Gryffindor,” Grover said immediately. “I told you, you’d fit right in with them.”

Annabeth was silent, studying him intently. After a long moment, she said, “I’m not sure. I don’t know you well enough. Try for whatever appeals to you best. If you don’t like what you get, cope with it.”

“Fantastic.” Percy wasn’t so hungry anymore. 

As if sensing his emotions, Grover said, “You can always talk to other houses. Things won’t be completely awful.”

Annabeth nodded. “The houses are encouraged to mingle with each other. Besides, houses often have classes together.”

“How do you guys know so much about this place?” Percy asked. He felt out of the loop. 

Annabeth and Grover exchanged a look. Grover looked torn, Annabeth stubborn.

“It should’ve been in the letter,” Annabeth said abruptly. “Didn’t you read it?”

Percy flushed. “I’m not the best at reading. I have this thing called dyslexia. It’s-”

“A learning disorder,” Annabeth interrupted. “You have difficulty reading.”

Percy blinked. “Yeah, how’d you know?” 

Annabeth shrugged. “It seems we have something in common.”

“You have dyslexia?” Percy was shocked beyond belief. “But you’re so… so-”

“Intelligent?” Percy didn’t answer, afraid she’d get offended somehow. “I listen to audio books when I can’t stand reading anymore. It was the only way to pass the time when my mum-” She cut herself off quickly. “I did it in my free time. What did you do in your free time?”

Percy felt as uncomfortable as she looked. “Mostly skateboard. Play basketball. That’s about it,” he lied. No way was he going to tell her that most of his time was taken up by doing odd jobs and worrying that he and his mom wouldn’t starve. Thankfully, now that Percy was gone, Sally would have one person less to worry about and provide for. “What about you, Grover?”

Grover looked uneasy with having the spotlight now on him. “I don’t do much. Play this, I suppose.” He pulled out what looked like a bunch of sticks with holes poked in them all glued together. “Drink coffee. Go on trips around the park, pick up trash. That kinda stuff.”

“You’re an environmentalist?” Percy asked. 

Grover nodded. “I also work at an animal shelter, and I’m trying to figure out a way to make animals get treated better. Most wizards don’t care much what muggles do. I do. They’re polluting the earth at an alarming rate and I’m trying to fix that. When I’m older I want to consort with both muggles and wizards and solve the problem. I’ve got to get high scores all the years at Hogwarts in herbology in order to qualify.”

“Wow. I don’t even know what I’m going to do,” Percy said, eyes wide. “I don’t even know what a muggle is!” 

Annabeth shook her head as if appalled by how clueless Percy was. “A muggle is a non-magic being.”

“So my mum, then.”

“Yes, your mum. And your father is a…” she paused, her eyes flicking over to Grover. When Percy looked at him, he smiled nervously. “Your father is too, I’m guessing?”

“My step-dad? Yeah, he’s as muggle as can be.” If the jerk could do magic, Percy would be long gone by now. 

Annabeth looked puzzled for a moment, then nodded as if everything had fallen into place in her mind. She locked eyes with Grover, and they seemed to have a conversation with just looks. She turned back to Percy. “What incidental magic have you done?”

Percy blinked rapidly, startled by the sudden change of subject. “I- Why?”

“Just curious, is all,” Annabeth said indifferently. “My incidental magic was mostly used to kill spiders. I want to know what other people do.”

Percy supposed that made sense. He just hadn’t really thought about it before. “Um… I think one time I killed a snake? At least, that’s what my mum told me. Caused some minor disasters on field trips, sprayed Nancy Bobofit with drinking fountain water. Actually, come to think of it, I’ve done quite a lot with magic. But nobody seems to remember it so I just thought it was my imagination.”

Annabeth nodded. “Yeah, we obliviate muggles all the time. There’s a whole division in the ministry that focuses on it. They’re called MIST- Minimizing Magical Incidents with Special Treatments. There’s two m’s, but they shortened it down to make it catchy. Anyway, they’re the reason that nobody can remember you doing it.”

“Wait, so you erase people’s memories?” Percy asked. “That’s kind of wrong, isn’t it?”

She shook her head. “It’s necessary. Muggles always end up doing the wrong thing one way or another. They overreact to things they don’t understand or try too hard to improve them as if they needed improving to begin with. It’s best to keep them out of our lives as much as we can.”

“What’s wrong with muggles?” Percy felt defensive. “My mum’s one and she’s absolutely wonderful.”

“What Annabeth means to say,” Grover stepped in, giving her a look, “is that we separate our lives as much as possible because muggle lives are hard enough without having to worry about us and our possible risk to their way of living and stuff like that.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Percy reluctantly agreed. 

Annabeth scoffed. 

“I think I should go change into the school clothes,” Grover said as silence fell upon them. “I’ll be back in a few.”

“Okay,” Percy said, while Annabeth just gave a curt nod to show she acknowledged what he said. 

As soon as Grover had shut the door, she turned to face Percy, an eager and somehow urgent expression on her face. “What do you know about the prophecy? What happens at the summer solstice? I know he must have told you.”

“Summer sol- what?” Percy asked, bewildered. 

Annabeth folded her arms and sat backwards with a huff. “I was afraid you’d say that. I should’ve known. I just hoped… he said you were the one, after all… but no, you’re as clueless as you look.”

“Look, I know I’m new to this whole wizard thing, but you don’t have to be rude about it,” Percy said, bristling. 

“Oh, come off it,” Annabeth snapped. “I just thought you might know.”

“Try me.”

Annabeth studied him again, muttering to herself. “He might know… but I better not give it away… he’d be better in the dark… besides, I don’t want to get in trouble… but I want to know…”

“Know what?” Percy interrupted, impatient. 

She opened her mouth, then closed it again. Then, “Do you know what the date of the summer solstice is? Or the history behind it? I heard there was, erm, some prophecy in ancient times or something and-”

“Don’t tell me, then. That’s fine.” He folded his arms crossly. “Just don’t lie. I’m not a complete idiot.”

She flushed a deep red at being caught, then stuck her nose up in the air. “Are you sure about that?”

Percy scowled. “I thought friends were supposed to be nice to each other.”

“You don’t even know what friends are! You know, because you don’t have any!”

Percy sat back, shocked and hurt. That was a low blow. “Give me back my sweets and sit next to Grover.”

Annabeth blinked, then narrowed her eyes. “Fine.”

She shoved the bag at him and moved seats. She stared at the window defiantly, arms and legs crossed, body stiff and rigid. 

Percy looked out the window, too, his previously good mood spoiled. Not even at the stupid school and already he’d botched a friendship. What luck he had. 

“Hey, guys, you’ll never believe what I saw-” Grover started, then paused. “What-? I was gone for two seconds, what happened?”

Percy shrugged moodily, not wanting to talk about it. “What did you see?”

Grover sat down, as far away from Annabeth as possible, Percy noted, and grabbed the bag of candy. “I saw a nemean lion! You know, the huge lion cat monster? It had the cutest little cubs too.”

Annabeth looked over and opened her mouth to say something, but caught herself and turned back to the window again. 

Percy tried to feel excited, he really did. “Oh, cool!”

Grover looked between the two and smiled sympathetically at Percy, who suddenly felt defensive again. He hated being pitied. He gave Grover a tight smile and joined Annabeth in staring out the window. 

“I think we should all get some sleep,” Grover suggested, putting the candy bag next to Percy and using his clothes as a make-shift pillow and blanket. 

Percy vowed then that he would stay awake the whole time, just to spite Grover. But then he really looked out the window and was mesmerized by the beautiful scenery they passed. The train was so warm and the seats were so comfortable. And with nothing but the rhythmic, constant thrumming sound of the train to listen to, he found himself sinking more and more into the seats. Before he knew it, he was fast asleep.


	2. Of the Wrong Sort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy & Co get sorted

Percy dreamt of barn animals that were punishing him for littering in a court of law. His lawyer was a huge bull that didn’t do much except say that he was a child. His judge was an ugly walrus with three hairs combed over its scalp. He proclaimed him guilty, his punishment death. Screaming and yelling, they pushed him into a polluted river filled with beer bottles and bean dip with his hands tied and laughed as he spluttered and splashed. The judge cackled along with the other animals. “Never were smart enough to save yourself, were you?”

Percy’s eyes caught on a goat with brown curly hair that looked uncomfortable as it looked away, then on an owl with startingly grey eyes who only nodded in agreement. He’d get no help from them. 

He slipped under and met darkness. 

Percy awoke to see the same scrutinizing eyes staring at him. “Wh-what? Are we there?”

Annabeth cleared her throat and looked away. “Nearly.”

Percy straightened and rubbed his eyes. His dream had felt so real, and the creatures, what did they mean? Sure, he’d littered before, but it was paper, so it could decompose and whatever, so it was fine! Why was that floating around in his subconscious? 

Annabeth was staring at him again. 

“What?” Percy demanded self consciously. He’d thought she was going to ignore him. 

“You drool in your sleep.”

“I- what?” Percy wiped his mouth with his hand. She was right. “So what?”

She just shook her head and focused on a sketchbook in her lap. She twirled a pencil in her hand and glared at the paper as if demanding it to work with her. 

“Please don’t tell me you drew me drooling.” Percy peered at it to make sure, but she just angled it so it was out of sight. 

“Of course not,” she clipped. “I wouldn’t waste paper on that. Besides, I don’t draw people.”

“What do you draw then?” Percy asked, moving around to see if it could help him see it. Little Bob glared at him and climbed out of his lap to sit by his side instead. 

“Would you stop that?” Annabeth barked, and closed it with a snap. “My art is my business, so keep out. Now, pack everything up. We’re here.”

As if on cue, a voice rang throughout the train: “We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes’ time. Please leave your luggage, including your animals, on the train. It will be taken to the school separately.”

Immediately, Grover bolted upright, making Percy jump. “What? Why’d you guys let me sleep the whole time?”

“I just woke up,” Percy pointed out, purposefully ignoring Annabeth’s glare. 

She turned to Grover. “We thought you could use some sleep. You were out. Plus, don’t you remember the Disaster of the Double Cream?”

“I- that wasn’t my fault! The Stolls brought it on themselves!” Grover burst, his ears red. Then he nodded. “You have a good point. But I take vitamins for my ears, you know.   
You could just say wake up and I’d hear you.”

“Wait a minute? Disaster of the Double Cream?” Percy asked, feeling way behind. 

“It’s an inside joke,” Annabeth said. 

“Inside… how do you guys know each other, exactly?” Percy didn’t think they looked like friends. They barely even looked like they were acquaintances. 

They shared a look. Grover opened his mouth to say something when the train came to a stop. 

“We better get going,” Annabeth said, slipping her sketchbook and pencil into her robes. 

“Right!” Grover said, and hurried to get his things together. Percy just shook his head and followed his lead. He reluctantly put his kitten in her cage. 

“Sorry, Little Bob,” Percy muttered at her glare. “You’ve got to go in this, but don’t worry, okay? It’s only for a little while. I’ll let you out as soon as I can.”

When they got off the train, Annabeth immediately went with the crowds like she knew where she was going.

“Firs’ years, this way!” a voice bellowed, and Percy’s jaw dropped. Standing there was a monster of a man, with a mop of dark frizzy hair and beard. He’d never seen anyone so big. And yet… he didn’t feel threatened. There was a certain twinkle in the man’s eyes that reminded him of his mum. 

“C’mon,” Annabeth urged, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him along. 

The giant man’s eyes brightened when he saw Annabeth and Grover. “Annabeth n’ Grover! Nice seein’ you again.”

They nodded at him uneasily and Annabeth walked even faster, if that was possible. 

“Wait-” Percy gasped, trying to wrestle out of her grip. “How do you… know him?”

“We’ve just seen him around once or twice,” Annabeth said, avoiding his gaze. 

He finally succeeded in pulling away and stopped in place. “And he happens to know your names? Likely.”

Annabeth turned slowly, her face furious. “Look, you don’t need to know everything about our lives,” she hissed. “It’s our business. Got it?”

Percy was fuming. Why didn’t she get it? He just wanted to know what was going on! He opened his mouth angrily to retort, but never got a chance.

“Alri’ firs’ years, let’s get a move on, yeah?” The huge man boomed. 

Percy went to glare at the man for interrupting, but all the anger just diffused at the sight of the man. He was like a huge teddy bear, making it so that he couldn’t help but feel at home. “What’s his name?”

Annabeth looked at the man and smiled, as if she felt the same way. “That’s Hagrid. He’s the groundskeeper. Nicest half-giant you’ll ever meet.”

“Half-giant?” Percy gaped. “Woah.”

He hadn’t even considered the possibility of there being magical creatures. There was a lot that he was going to have to get used to. 

Grover grinned. “Yeah, Hagrid’s great. You’ll love him.”

“Come on, come on,” Hagrid urged, waving his humongous hand towards a trail that they could only see with the large lantern that he was carrying. “Stay close! Don’ wan’ anyone lost on their firs’ day, do we?”

Percy felt his nerves gnaw away at his stomach as he plodded along with the other students through the trees, trying his best not to stumble on the somewhat uneven pathway.   
Doubts plagued his mind. Maybe he didn’t belong here. Everyone else seemed to know what they were doing. He felt like he was trespassing into a world that didn’t want him. 

“Almost there,” Annabeth muttered under her breath.

“Here we are!” Hagrid gestured to the castle as they rounded the bend. “Yer new home!”

Percy’s breath caught in his throat. In the dark, the light from the castle was warm and inviting. It was rather like the illustrations in the fairy tales his mother used to read him when she wasn’t working: massive, whimsical, and almost intimidating in a way. Percy already knew that he was going to get lost in all its passageways. 

Then he saw the dock leading to the vast lake and immediately felt at ease. Water he could handle. He was definitely going to spend a lot of time around there. 

Annabeth interrupted his goggling by grabbing him again and pulling him to the boats. “You’re coming with me. You too, Grover. I’m not getting put with people I don’t know.”

“Right, okay,” Percy muttered distractedly, his eyes still glued to the castle. 

“Everyone, pair up an’ get into the boats!” Hagrid said, before catching sight of them and beaming. “It seems you three have already figured tha’ out! But o’ course you would!”   
This was said to Annabeth. 

She beamed in return, and Percy stared at her. She looked a whole lot nicer when she smiled, rather like a princess. She caught him staring and immediately stopped, pulling him down into the boat with her. Percy gave Grover a look, like: Save me. 

The brunet just laughed softly and joined them. “Is this safe?”

Percy felt perfectly comfortable in the water, but didn’t say that. He didn’t know if there was some magical creature that could swallow them whole or anything like that. This was new territory, after all. 

Annabeth’s eyes darted to Percy, then observed the area around them. She nodded. “Should be.” 

Grover didn’t look appeased with her answer, but didn’t say much else. Everyone was silent as they crossed the lake. 

“Stop it, Clarisse,” someone whined. Percy turned to see the commotion. A girl with stringy light brown hair that was rather bulky and athletic for their age rocked the boat back and forth, and the other girl was gripping the sides. Another girl in the boat just watched the scene unfold. 

“What, are you scared to fall in?” she asked smugly. “You’re definitely not making it in Gryffindor, then! Have a little fun!”

“I don’t want my hair to get wet!” Her hair was indeed very silky and straight. In fact, Percy noticed as he looked closer, she even seemed to be wearing make up, which was a rare thing to see on eleven year olds. 

Clarisse just snorted. “Oh, come on, it’s not like we have magic to fix it up again or anything like that!” 

Hagrid watched them, looking torn, as if he didn’t know whether or not he should stop her. 

The third girl in the boat continued watching, interested. “Go on, you too. This is entertaining.”

Clarisse grinned down at her. “Oh, I like you.”

The girl with makeup on huffed and looked away. Clarisse sat down and began talking with the calm one, so Percy moved his attention to the forest on his right. It seemed to go on forever, and he tried not to think of being there alone in the fog and the dark. 

A wolf howl sounded in the distance, and Percy felt Grover jump next to him. “What was that?”

“A wolf?” Percy suggested unhelpfully. 

Annabeth rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, Grover. We’re safe. Nothing can hurt us here.”

“Here we are!” Hagrid shouted, sounding relieved, as the boats came to a gentle stop at the other end of the lake, and the students climbed out carefully. 

The castle looked even larger up close, towering over him. In Percy’s experience, the larger the school, the more strict it was. The nervous knot in his stomach tightened, and he swallowed hard. 

Hagrid firmly knocked three times on the giant wooden door. “You lo’ better move back a bit.”

The students stepped back cautiously as the door slowly opened. Percy expected some great magical animal of some kind guarding the entrance, or some sort of a security system that required some magic to get through. Instead, there in the middle of the entrance, was a small grey cat with black stripes. When Percy looked closer, he noticed that the cat seemed to have little spectacles on. 

“Hey there, McGonagall!” Hagrid exclaimed. He addressed the students. “She’ll take ya the rest o’ the way.”

Percy turned to Annabeth, whispering, “The cat?”

She nodded. “But she’s not a cat anymore.”

“What?” When Percy looked back, his jaw dropped again. Annabeth was right. In place of the cat was a stern-looking woman with the spectacles and a tight, pinched face. She was wearing a green robe and her black hair was pulled into a tight bun at the top of her head. 

“Come with me,” she said shortly, and briskly walked the opposite direction, her robe billowing up behind her. 

The students startled out of their shock and hurried after her, almost jogging as they tried to catch up. Percy noticed many stared around them as they walked, and did the same. There was so much to look at: flaming torches that provided the lighting, an extremely tall ceiling, even the floor was interesting. Annabeth didn’t seem to show much awe, but he ignored that. His enthusiasm simmered down a bit at the sight of a marble staircase leading to the upper floors. He hated stairs. 

As they neared the tip of the stairs, Percy heard the droning on of voices. The other students must already be here, he realized. Why would they separate his class from the rest? 

McGonagall led them to an empty chamber and turned to them. “Welcome to Hogwarts. Before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. Each of the houses- Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff- have their own admirable traits and have produced many outstanding witches and wizards. Here at Hogwarts we have a point system. If you triumph, you receive points. On the other hand, if you break any rules, you shall lose points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points shall win.”

Percy felt a twinge of worry in his gut. He never was one for following rules. 

“The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school,” McGonagall continued. “I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly.”

And then she left. 

Percy looked nervously to Annabeth, who was making sure that she was presentable. “How exactly does the sorting happen?”

She stared at him. “Your hair’s a mess.”

He bit his lip and tried to fix it, knowing that it wouldn’t do much. His hair was unruly and nothing he could do would change it. 

“Here,” she said, and combed her fingers through it, her eyes narrowed in concentration. 

Percy tried his best to keep still, his breath caught in his throat. He wasn’t used to girls paying attention to him, much less fixing his hair. He felt like he was being babied. 

Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who thought so. “Aw, look at him! Probably missing his mummy.” 

It was the Clarisse girl. She pushed through other students and looked down at him. “You’ll be in Hufflepuff, I bet. Only losers go there.”

Percy rolled his eyes, but she’d hit a nerve. He was fairly nervous about what house he’d be placed in. 

“Oh, shut it, Clarisse.” Annabeth crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re the only one who cares. Besides, didn’t you hear McGonagall? All houses are equally noble.”

The girl sneered. “If you say so, blondie.”

Then she returned to her new friend, who was chattering excitedly with a boy.

Percy crossed his arms tightly, his nervousness only growing stronger. What if he didn’t belong in any of them? What if he failed the test, or whatever it was. 

“A hat,” Annabeth said. 

“What?” Percy asked, confused. Was his hair so bad that he had to cover it? He didn’t have a hat!

“The Sorting,” Annabeth clarified. “You wear a hat. It determines your house.”

Percy blinked. “You’re joking.”

She just stared at him.

“Fine,” he said, putting his hands up. “But you’ve got to admit, it’s weird. Why don’t they do a test? How can they trust the hat?”

The girl faltered a bit. “Because it’s tradition. Why would it be evil? It only has one job.”

Percy shrugged. “You never know.”

She stared at him for a bit, before Grover cut in. “What house do you want to be in?” 

Oof, Percy thought. He hadn’t really thought about it. What Clarisse said earlier popped into his head. “I guess, anything but a Hufflepuff? No offense, Grover.”

Grover opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when McGonagall entered the room. 

“It’s time.”

Percy felt extremely self-conscious as they walked down the Great Hall. His looked straight ahead, but he could feel the older students’ eyes on him, sizing him up. He heard whispers. 

“Aw they’re so cute!”

“No way we were that short. Every generation gets shorter, I swear.”

He rolled his eyes. He always hated being at the bottom of the totem pole, but it was only for a year, and then he would be doing the same. Reputation didn’t matter anyways. After graduation, no one would care. 

Still, he straightened his spine and tried his best to look taller. 

He noticed that Annabeth’s nose was slightly in the air and smiled. It seemed he wasn’t the only one who felt that way. 

They came to a stop in front of a wooden stool with a raggedy hat. McGonagall pulled out a thin scroll. “Now for your sorting.”

Percy felt his nerves increase to the point that he was actually starting to feel sick. Everyone was going to stare at him. And what if the hat sorted him in the wrong place?   
Everything blurred as students were getting called up. 

“Chase, Annabeth!!” she called, and he snapped out of it. 

Annabeth looked quite unfazed as she strode up to the hat. She locked her gaze onto the Ravenclaw table, her eyes ablaze with determination. And then, oddly, they flickered for a split second to the Slytherins. She bit her lip, looking torn. Then she nodded thoughtfully. 

“SLYTHERIN!” the hat called. 

Grover looked at Percy as if he couldn’t believe it, and Percy couldn’t help but feel the same way. Annabeth had seemed so intent on being Ravenclaw it felt almost wrong that she went into a quite different house. It didn’t seem possible to be even more nervous, but this made him just that. It didn’t matter what house he wanted to go in; the hat made the decision, not him. 

Before he knew it, he was up next. “Jackson, Perseus!”

He winced, barely stopping himself from automatically correcting her. 

“Good luck, mate,” Grover said quietly.

“Thanks,” he said back. Then he started his way up. He tripped over his own shoelace and stumbled, making some of the other students snicker. He heard Clarisse whisper, “I guess mummy forgot to tie his laces for him.”

His face hot with a mixture of embarrassment and anger, he sat in the stool with his arms crossed as the hat was placed upon his head.  
When it started talking, he jumped. 

“Ah, you’re a tough one,” the hat said slyly. “Fiercely loyal, I see. But a rebellious streak as well. Brave. A surprisingly formidable mind. You really could fit into any house. Do you have a preference?” 

Percy didn’t know what to say. Did he talk out loud, or just… think it? 

The hat laughed. “I can hear your thoughts.”

Well, uh, Mr. Hat, sir, what house do you think I’d be best in?

“The choice is yours.”

Well, then… He looked at the houses helplessly. Maybe I don’t belong in any of them. 

“It seems I shall have to choose for you.” The hat paused for a moment before saying: “Yes, that’ll do quite well for you, I should think. HUFFLEPUFF!’

Percy heard Clarisse laugh from her spot in Slytherin, his face burning even hotter. Annabeth elbowed her in the ribs. 

He smiled a bit at that, and then ambled over to the Hufflepuff table, trying to determine where to sit.

“Hi, there,” said a girl his age with amber hair and green eyes, scooching over and beckoning for him to take a seat. “You can sit by me.”

“Thanks,” Percy said, and did so. 

“So,” she said after a moment of watching other students get sorted, “I saw you hanging with the Grover boy, and I was wondering… erm… is he nice?”

“Nice?” Percy asked, curious. It seemed she had a bit of a crush. 

She blushed. “Well… yes. Just wondering.”

He nodded. “Oh, yeah. He’s very nice. Great guy.”

She smiled, looking over at Grover fondly. “Good.”

And then it was Grover’s turn. The hat looked hesitant, Grover’s eyes focused on Percy. Then it nodded. 

“HUFFLEPUFF!” 

Percy clapped and cheered as Grover hurried over, his ears red. “I was hoping you’d be with me!”

Grover slid into the seat next to him. “Of course! Couldn’t leave you on your own, now could I?”

“Well, actually,” Percy looked over at his new kind of friend, “I’m not really on my own. Meet… erm, sorry, I don’t think I caught your name.”

The girl blushed hard but spoke casually, saying, “I’m Juniper. And you’re Percy.”

“How’d you…?” He paused. “Oh, right. The ceremony.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Juniper,” Grover said shyly. 

Juniper beamed. “Likewise.” 

Then the man at the middle of the staff table stood up and went to the podium. Percy assumed he was the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, and moments later, his assumption was confirmed. 

The headmaster’s speech was short and sweet, just short enough to keep Percy’s attention, but long enough to get what was important to be made known. He was a bit odd, but Percy liked him regardless. 

He was curious about the forest, though. Living in an apartment in London had offered him little opportunities to experience the country or many camping experiences. His mum did take him on little vacations to a cabin every summer, but he hadn’t really gone into the woods before. Especially not a forbidden one. It intrigued him. 

Then the food appeared, and all thoughts of the forest immediately vanished. He and Sally had never exactly starved before, but there were nights where Percy couldn’t sleep because he felt so empty and cold inside. This was positively unreal. 

He stuffed himself as much as he could, trying out everything he could get his hands on. Grover carefully avoided meat, and Juniper thanked her vegetables for their service before eating them- somewhat making Percy feel like an uncivilized savage, but he didn’t care enough to stop.   
When he finally settled down, he tried to join the conversation that Grover and Juniper were having, but found it difficult to find common ground between two environmentalists.   
Especially two magical environmentalists. Seemingly of their own accord, his eyes wandered over to the Slytherin table. Grey eyes stared right back, then hurriedly shot away. 

“Excuse me for a minute,” Percy said.

Juniper and Grover didn’t notice, too wrapped up in their conversation about gillyweed to process what he’d said. 

Percy headed over to the Slytherin table, softly tapping Annabeth on the shoulder. “Can I sit with you?”

She looked surprised, but nodded and scooted over for him. 

He gratefully sat down next to her. “I have a couple of questions, if you don’t mind.”

“Sure,” she said with a shrug. 

“Hey, no wimpy little Hufflepuffs here!” Clarisse said with a snort, nearly shoving him off his seat. 

Annabeth caught him, sending the girl a dirty look. “Shove off.”

Clarisse only shook her head with a smirk as if she couldn’t believe her. “Fraternizing with the enemy. Shameful.”

“Anyways,” Annabeth said, pointedly ignoring her, “what were your questions?”

“Well, I was wondering,” he said, smoothing down his robes, “how the people figure out that you’re a wizard and stuff. I mean, I didn’t know that I had magic!”

She took a bite out of an apple, chewing thoughtfully. “There’s a department that specializes in that, too. I’m sure that whenever you do accidental magic, some alarm sounds or something and that department is notified. They keep tabs on you.”

Percy frowned. “So, they spy on you? I don’t know how I feel about that.”

Annabeth rolled her eyes. “They don’t spy, they just check up on you once in a while. Feel around for potential threats. Check up on your accidental magic history. Make sure your parents are being responsible. That kind of stuff.”

Percy fiddled with his sleeve. “What if your parent isn’t being responsible? What do they do then?”

“Why?” Annabeth asked, leaning forward. “Is your…?”

Percy’s eyes snapped up, so wide it was nearly comical. “No! Of course not. I was just wondering, that’s all.”

Annabeth hummed, looking unconvinced. 

“You didn’t answer my question,” Percy said nervously, frantically trying to steer the conversation elsewhere. 

Annabeth shrugged, her gaze shifting to her food but she made no move to eat it. “What is this, twenty questions? Why would I know about that? I don’t know everything.”

Percy leaned back, surprised at the slight edge to her voice. “I don’t know, maybe because you’ve known everything else? Why so defensive?”

“I’m not being defensive!” Annabeth ground out through gritted teeth, still avoiding eye contact. 

“Is your parent, um-?” Percy started, then immediately stopped at the murderous glare she sent him. 

Her hands had tightened dangerously around her knife and spoon, and Percy fought the urge to make a break for it. “That’s none of your business. Go back to your table.”

“But-” Percy started. 

“No,” Annabeth said. “We’ll talk later. I expect we’ll be splitting up into our dormitories soon, anyway.” 

“Fine,” Percy snapped, and climbed out of his seat. “See you later, then. Thanks for the help.”

She ignored his sarcasm. “You’re welcome.”

Percy was full-on scowling when he returned to his spot at the Hufflepuff table. Why was she so blastedly stubborn? And secretive?

“What happened to you?” Grover asked. 

“Oh, now you notice me,” Percy sniped. 

Grover looked mildly surprised and a little hurt at Percy’s anger. “Sorry. I guess me and Juniper got a little carried away.”

Percy deflated and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “No, you don’t need to apologize. I’m just… Annabeth’s so…”

“Cute?” Juniper said with a wide grin, wiggling her eyebrows. 

Percy blinked. “What? No!” He shook his head exaggeratedly to emphasize his point. “She’s annoying, that’s what she is! One minute she’ll be all know-it-all, and the next, she’s like, ‘stop asking me questions! I won’t tell you anything!’”

Grover shrugged. “That’s just the way she is. Trust doesn’t come easily with her. You have to earn it. She has to know you’re the right sort.”

Percy rested his cheek on his fist with a pout and watched her pull a book out of her bag. “Well, maybe she’s the wrong one.”

Grover and Juniper exchanged a look. “We’ll see.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that many have their own opinions with the characters and what house they belong in, but these are mine. I put a lot of thought into this, so no hate, please. If you don't like it, write your own fic and let me know the title so I can read it. I love seeing the different reasons/views. 
> 
> Leave a review if you'd like. It's a really helpful reminder that hey, people want to see this continued! Or else it's kind of a waste of my time. Plus, interaction with readers is just the best.


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